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In our world today, being a teacher is not an easy task – it comes with its own challenges. Apart from the daily teaching job, teachers are faced with students that have behavioral and family issues, learning disabilities, and many more. As a school owner, keeping your teachers motivated is a crucial part of your role. Teachers that are motivated encourage a positive learning environment for their colleagues and students.
Here are 7 tips for teacher motivation;
1. Identify and Reduce Stressors
Don’t overload teachers with professional development during report card season! Avoid stresses during the end of the term, report-writing periods, or while teachers are marking exams. This causes teacher motivation to slowly fade. If there’s any way you can lend a hand during these times, make sure to do so! This could look like taking on some of the work yourself or covering a teacher’s lunch supervision shift
2. Publicly Applaud Teachers
If a teacher feels valued, you won’t need to worry about motivating them. These teachers will know how to stay motivated. Making each teacher feel valued can be as simple as including an announcement in the morning thanking the teacher for something that they have done recently. You can also make this a larger gesture by organizing a staff lunch in which you personally thank teachers for outstanding contributions to the school.
3. Encourage Teachers to Partake in Professional Development Opportunities
You should offer professional development for the teachers within your school, but also provide opportunities for each teacher to learn outside the school. This could include conferences, workshops, or specialized professional development offered at a higher level. Confirm all reasonable requests. Make sure that you are also keeping an eye out for new opportunities, and presenting these to all teachers at staff meetings.
4. Let Their Voice be Heard
Being left out of an important decision that affects them is the easiest way for a teacher to lose motivation. Many teachers would love to be involved in these decisions if you gave them the opportunity. Invite a teacher from each grade to be a representative during board meetings to get their opinion and learn about their proposed strategies. Also consider holding “open-door” meetings, where every teacher has the option to attend and listen during meetings, even if they are not directly involved.
5. Encourage Cooperation
Having your teachers work together can significantly impact their motivation. More experienced teachers will be recognized for their best teaching strategies. Younger teachers will be given validation when they are actually trying to make things work. Consider creating professional learning communities within your school to create a more formal structure for collaboration. Use technologies such as Google Drive, Team, Slack, etc. to foster a culture of collaboration.
READ MORE: Stress Management Strategies for Teachers
6. Encourage each Teacher’s Strengths
Every teacher has strengths and weaknesses. When teachers are able to use that strength in the classroom, it’s easy to see how much more engaged and inspired students become. It may be difficult for some teachers to recognize their own strengths, especially while trying to keep up with curriculum standards. To help them figure out what works in their classroom, have each teacher think about any particular lessons that worked really well, and any tools or techniques that the teacher likes to use, such as incorporating visual aid into a lesson.
7. Let Your Office be Open to all Teachers
Your role as a school owner/administrator is to make your teachers’ lives easier so that they can teach and your students can learn. Help your teachers as much as possible when they have a heavier workload. Consider asking your teachers what they need help with before jumping in so that they do not feel like you are micromanaging. Make sure to also introduce software tools that can help through monotonous tasks.
Keeping your teachers motivated can be a challenge. But it is an essential part of your student’s overall success. Great teachers are those that are motivated to excel and take pride in their students’ success both inside and outside the classroom. Take the time to experiment with some of these tips to find what works best in your school!
